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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24378109">your time after time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pvwork/pseuds/pvwork'>pvwork</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Apologies, Established Relationship, F/F, Post-Canon, Rebuilding, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 5 Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:42:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,269</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24378109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pvwork/pseuds/pvwork</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Catra goes on an apology tour.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>your time after time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title from "Felt this Way" by Carly Rae Jepsen. </p><p>Season 5 spoilers!! It's been so long since I wrote anything and I'm trying out something new. Wishing everyone well.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Catra knew a beautiful sunset when she saw one. There was none more magnificent than the one before her. Etheria’s moons were growing in clarity with every passing second. A herd of fluffy clouds in soft shades of pink and orange dotted the horizon as two suns sank into the horizon. </p><p>Adora’s arm was a welcome weight around her shoulders. </p><p>“Hey Adora,” Catra said. “There are a few things I still have to do.” </p><p>“And then you’ll come to Bright Moon?” Adora said.</p><p>“And then I’ll come find you.” Catra said. She turned away from the sky and flicked an imaginary speck of dust off her leg. “I have a lot of practice.” </p><p>Catra felt more than heard Adora let out an amused huff. </p><p>“You do, huh?” Adora said. </p><p>Having Adora here, being held by her, was better than anything Catra’s imagination could have conjured. Adora smelled like ozone and dust, sweat and magic. Her love was a shawl wrapped all around Catra, palpable and certain and soft. Catra didn’t want to leave her side for even a second. </p><p> </p><p>After Adora and her retinue of princess had disappeared in a shower of sparks, Catra made her way across the Fright Zone. </p><p>It hardly felt accurate to keep calling it the Fright Zone. </p><p>The twisting metal structures of their childhood had gone to seed. Everywhere she looked, lush greenery sprouted stubbornly through vulnerable cracks. Catra bet if she went into the buildings, she would find nothing but roots and stalks. All the flowers and leaves were stretching towards the twin suns shining in the sky. </p><p>She-ra had done a hell of a job landscaping.</p><p>It didn’t take her long to get to the Whispering Woods with Melog’s help. Catra left her napping at the top of a tree. </p><p>The campsite she approached was small and done up in the traditional Horde survivalist style. There were a lot of motion detecting sensors, but Catra maneuvered around those easily. She landed in the middle of camp by a fire pit in near silence. </p><p>“Catra?” A familiar voice called. </p><p>Not silently enough then. Turning on the balls of her feet, Catra came face to face with the source of that voice. “Good morning, Lonnie,” Catra said.</p><p>“What happened to your hair?” Lonnie said.</p><p> “A change of pace.”</p><p>“Fine, whatever,” Lonnie said. “What are you doing here.”</p><p>“Just thought I’d pop in for a little visit,” Catra said. “Can’t a girl come around to visit some old friends?”</p><p>Lonnie’s eyebrows threatened to fly off her forehead. Catra had missed this. They’d all been in the same cohort of Horde trainees once, sharing ration bars, fighting together in the simulators, and on and on, an endless list of shared responsibilities that abruptly cut off when Catra was promoted as a direct consequence of Adora becoming the savior of the known universe. They were so different now, but once upon a time all either of them had wanted was to be made Force Captain. </p><p>A series of unnatural sounds cut through her thoughts. A foghorn. A bird’s cry. The Horde’s emergency sirens.</p><p>“Is that—” Catra said. </p><p>“It’s the Imp,” Lonnie said. She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips as if daring Catra to make a snide comment. “Kyle and Rogelio took him in and renamed him Magpie.” </p><p>Catra watched as Rogelio crawled out of a tent and strapped a baby carrier onto his chest. </p><p>“He’s not very good at flying long distances right now,” Rogelio said defensively. “Wait, what are you doing here?” He had good reason to be suspicious of Catra. The last time they were in the same room together they had severed all ties to one another, both professional and personal. </p><p>Catra straightened up to her full height and tried to still the nervous twitch of her tail. “I have something to show you,” Catra said.</p><p> </p><p>After an unsubtle whispered argument, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio broke down camp and allowed Catra to lead them through the Fright Zone.</p><p>It took two days of travel to reach Horror Hall and another half day to reach the ruins of an unfamiliar town. </p><p>“Huh,” Lonnie said. “What is this supposed to be?”  </p><p>“It’s a chance to try something new,” Catra said. “You could start again!” She turned to look at Kyle and Rogelio, who wore the baby carrier day after day and never seemed to tire. Magpie opened his mouth and let loose the sound of a hundred bullfrogs ribbiting. “You could settle down.”</p><p>Kyle walked over to the closest building and ran his hands over the pale stone walls. </p><p>The desert had preserved the town well. The occasional wooden door had collapsed but that was manageable. There were piles of sand threatening to crowd out space on the narrow streets and slowly sweeping into open rooms, but there were still delicate quartz windows winking in the afternoon suns, and the walls of the town itself had withstood the test of occupation and remained standing. </p><p>“It would take a lot of work,” Kyle said. “to get this place up and running again.”</p><p>“When have you ever been afraid of hard work,” Catra said. </p><p>“We could have a house,” Kyle said. His voice had a strange wistful quality to it, like he had thought about this before. To be honest, the concept of privacy was still strange to Catra, who had lived in the Horde barracks all her life too. “We could have our own space,” he said. He only had eyes for Rogelio as he said that last part.</p><p>Catra looked away. </p><p>“Hold on,” Lonnie said. “Who’s going to lead the cleanup? You? No offense, but last time we tried to build anything for you, it turned into a complete disaster.” </p><p>“I was thinking,” Catra said. “you could lead the restoration efforts.” She smoothed her short hair back as a wave of nerves crested over her. “Whatever you decide to do, I won’t be in the Fright Zone overseeing it. I won’t even be on the planet.” Catra took a deep breath and spoke as sincerely as she knew how. “You’re a good leader, Lonnie. Any restoration effort anywhere would be lucky to have you.” </p><p> </p><p>Catra had left Lonnie and the others in the remains of the stone town with promises of more supplies and manpower. She made her way to Bright Moon with every intention to make good on her promise.</p><p>Still, when Catra crossed the moat surrounding the castle at the center of Bright Moon, something in her chest let loose a wild cry of joy, and it had nothing to do with the prospect of restoring the Fright Zone. Her eager heart made Catra direct Melog with extra urgency through the castle grounds. </p><p>Adora wasn’t in the kitchen where Netossa and Spinnerella were competitively making muffins. She wasn’t in the stables with Swift Wind and Micah, the exile, talking about the magical properties of love. Catra even made her way into the throne room, but there was only Sparkles and her advisors looking over a mountain of paperwork. </p><p>“You’ve had your turn,” Melog said, her voice full of amusement. “Let me try to find her now, youngling.” </p><p>“Be my guest,” Catra muttered. </p><p>Melog padded along a few corridors, scenting the air as she went, until she turned one last corner and nosed her way into a room that’s door had been left ajar. </p><p>Adora was sprawled across a big round bed in the center of the room. The mattress was plush, and the pillows and blankets looked soft and inviting. Adora’s hair was loose around her head as her arms reached for the edges of the bed. The privacy curtains around her bed were made of rich purple cloth and were haphazardly drawn closed.</p><p>“Look,” Melog said. “There she is.” </p><p>Catra hesitated just inside the door. She patted Melog’s nebulous mane and the illusion hiding them from sight dissipated in a shower of golden motes. Catra did her best to clean up in the wash basin in the corner. She even changed out of her travel-dusted jumpsuit into one of Adora’s tunics. It was loose and comfortable and smelled just like Adora. </p><p>“Let us sleep,” Melog said. </p><p>She leapt onto the bed and curled up at Adora’s feet. With much more caution and care, Catra crawled onto the bed too. She laid her head on an empty pillow and let her eyes grow heavy while trying to match her breaths to Adora’s. </p><p> </p><p>Catra woke suddenly. </p><p>“Hey there,” Adora’s voice was soft with sleep. “Missed you.” </p><p>Catra’s chest was too small for all the feelings rushing through her. She was a grassy field, every blade a new feeling or a new facet of an existing one, rooted to memories both precious and half forgotten, fluttering in the wake of Adora’s mere presence which the wind, the sky, the sun. </p><p>“I—” Catra’s voice cracked. “I missed you too.” </p><p>The light coming in through the castle windows had dimmed since Catra’s arrival.  </p><p>Melog bound up from the foot of the bed and stepped all over the pillows before settling down. She curled on her side to lick Adora with her raspy, dry tongue. Catra may have been the only one who could hold a conversation with Melog, but you didn’t need to speak her language to understand she adored Adora. </p><p>“Looks like Melog missed me too,” Adora laughed. </p><p>As if sensing the jealousy sparking in Catra’s stomach, Melog gave Adora’s cheek one final lick and leapt off the bed. “I will go see if dinner is being prepared,” Melog said with great dignity. She didn’t exactly wink, but Catra thought she could see something amused in her expression as she padded out of the room with her tail held high. </p><p>Adora rolled over so that she was laying almost on top of Catra. “May I have a kiss?”</p><p>Catra was nodding and reaching out before Adora had finished asking the question. </p><p>The kiss was warm and Adora was a comforting pressure pressing Catra deeper into the mattress. Adora slipped one hand behind Catra’s neck and one hand up her shirt to rest against Catra’s bare waist. Her hair fell around their faces like a curtain and Catra felt surrounded in the best way. One kiss turned into many more kisses and Catra’s lips buzzed as she pressed them to Adora’s again and again. Adora was so <i>warm</i>, heat and pressure and the tender stroke of her thumb against Catra’s skin, and it made Catra want things she didn’t have words for. </p><p> </p><p>They must have fallen asleep again because when they woke up again, Melog had returned to curl up in the crook of Catra’s legs. Catra had been sleeping on her side with her back against Adora, who was sleeping on her back, drooling into her pillow fetchingly. </p><p>A tray laden with food was floating next to the wash basin in a glowing pink bubble. </p><p>Catra crawled out from between Melog and Adora, careful not to jostle either of them. As soon as her hands passed through the bubble and closed around the tray, the bubble disappeared with a soft pop and the smell of warm bread and grilled meat filled through the room.</p><p>“Hmm?” Adora inquired. </p><p>They ate sitting in the middle of the bed. Melog put her head on Catra’s knee and Catra fed her the choicest, rawest pieces of meat.  </p><p>“How long are you back for?” Adora asked.</p><p>The wording of the question grated against Catra. Adora didn’t ask if she was back for good. She had asked for how long, like she was expecting something to take Catra away from Bright Moon again. She was jumping to conclusions even though in this case, Catra grudgingly admitted to herself, Adora was right. </p><p>“What if I was here for good?” Catra said.</p><p>“Well,” Adora said. “It’ll take some time for Entrapta to finish fixing up the First One’s ship.” She swept her hair over one shoulder and shrugged. “I’m sure you have lots of things you want to do before we go to space.”</p><p>Catra sighed and pushed the tray of food towards Adora. She flopped down onto the bed starred unseeingly up at the canopy of cloth hanging over them. The fact that Adora knew her so well even after all the time they spent on different sides of a <i>war</i> was hard to swallow. Catra had rebuilt herself so many times over the months of their separation, and here was Adora cutting to the heart of the matter with more grace than Catra would have expected from her. </p><p>“Cats out of the bag,” Catra sighed. “I’ll tell you what I’ve been working on, but first, what do you know about the remaining Prime clones?”  </p><p> </p><p>In the morning, Catra and Adora went to see Wrong Hordak, who had changed his name to Whodak. </p><p>He was camped out with his brothers in a great big field a little way off the grounds of the Bright Moon castle. </p><p>“Glimmer says this used to be where they held tournaments and outdoor performances,” Adora said. She pointed to the various pavilions stretching into the sky as they walked closer. “The princesses would come from all over Etheria and bond over the festivities.” </p><p>“Sparkles ever go to one of these shin-digs.”</p><p>“Uh,” Adora said. “Probably not. You know. Because the Horde came to Etheria.” </p><p>“It sure did,” Catra said as she looked over row after row of shining tents sitting in the field. Various Horde Prime clones were walking around with the unreal smoothness of inorganic beings.</p><p>“Adora!” Whodak exclaimed. “And Catra! Welcome!” Whodak winked cutely. “Come, you must see our brothers’ newest efforts in our kitchen.” He grabbed their hands and steered them into a big tent near the center of camp. Whodak had a surprisingly gentle grip, and his voice was filled with unabashed pride as he gestured to the proceedings.</p><p>“Brothers!” Whodak exclaimed. “We have guests!” </p><p>“Welcome Adora and Catra,” the all the clones said with a single voice. </p><p>Whodak proceeded to introduce every single one of his brothers by name. “This is Fredak, Nak, Crodak, Pak….” </p><p>Catra zoned out after the third brother who waved and winked in greeting, but Adora seemed to be following along judging by the way she was nodding and waving back. </p><p>“What are your plans?” Catra said. “You can’t stay here forever.” </p><p>Whodak smiled. “We will move on when the time is right,” Whodak said. “We are trying to make amends.” He gestured around the kitchen tent, which upon further inspection, was not cooking any food at all. There were tanks full of seaweed in the far wall, and coral polyps growing under soft purple lights. In another tank, a single shard of ice was suspended in glossy blue liquid and two clones were taking turns sticking sparking metal rods into the tank. “Those are bound for Salineas and the Kingdom of Snows when they are ready” </p><p>Catra and Adora shared a look. It was strange to see someone who looked so much like Hordak trying to do things to benefit Etheria instead of conquering it. It wasn’t easy to apologize for hurting someone, for doing real and true damage to an entire planet, but Whodak seemed like he was trying his hardest to make amends. Catra felt sure that their purposes were aligned. </p><p>“Whodak,” Catra said. “Do you have any brothers who are interested deserts?” </p><p> </p><p>It took some doing, but Melog and Catra finally managed to track Scorpia to the castle garden. </p><p>“What do I say?” Catra hissed. </p><p>“The standard greeting of your people,” Melog said. </p><p>“No, I meant,” Catra started but was cut off by the sound of delighted laughter. They climbed an apple tree carefully and looked down.</p><p>It was Perfuma, sitting on the ground holding a rose in full bloom in the curve of her hand, laughing out loud and in absolute delight. “Stop,” Perfuma said between peals of laughter. “You’re too much!” </p><p>Scorpia was sitting on the ground across from her, holding Perfuma’s other hand between her two claws. She was smiling wider than Catra had ever seen. She looked good. The dark bags under her eyes towards the end, the strained set to her mouth, they had all settled, leaving behind a smiling <i>princess</i> looking so smitten that Catra had to look away for a second. It felt like she was intruding. </p><p>“We are intruding,” Melog said in an echo of Catra’s own thoughts. “Let us try this again, youngling.” </p><p>Catra huffed but climbed down the tree and walked to one of the garden gates. This time, she made sure to open the gate so the rusty hinges squealed. Melog ended the illusion surrounding them, and together they walked down the garden path, making sure to let their steps crunch on the gravel path. Catra stepped on every slightly crunchy leaf she saw until they had meandered back to where they had last spotted Scorpia and Perfuma. </p><p>They were still sitting in the same position, facing each other, but now Perfuma had both her hands on Scorpia’s claws. </p><p>“Hey, love birds,” Catra said. </p><p>“Oh!” Scorpia said. “Hi!” She looked surprised by Catra’s appearance but didn’t pull her hands away. Perfuma didn’t look surprised at all. </p><p>“Catra,” Perfuma said. Her voice was perfectly pleasant, but something in the tilt of her chin looked challenging. Can’t have that now, Catra thought, and rested her hand on Melog’s shoulder to steady herself. </p><p>“You are just the people I’m looking for,” Catra said. She looked them both in the eyes and tried to project that she was addressing them as a unit.</p><p>There was a time when Scorpia had offered to follow Catra to the ends of the Etheria, but those times had passed. Catra had had her heart set on Adora long before she had even met Scorpia, long before she had even wanted to acknowledge that fact about herself, but something about seeing Scorpia and Perfuma together still made her heart do an uncomfortable flip. Would Scorpia still want to be friends? </p><p>After exchanging a loaded look with Perfuma, Scorpia cleared her throat and said, “What can we help you with, Wild Cat?” </p><p>Hearing the old nickname gave Catra hope. Maybe there was a chance this bridge could be mended after all. </p><p> </p><p>“I was thinking about restoring the Fright Zone,” Catra said. </p><p>“Why?” Perfuma said. </p><p>Melog had lain down and Catra was leaning into her side where she sat. </p><p>“I lived there for a long time,” Catra said. “But I don’t think I saw what it could be until I left.” </p><p>She tried to explain the well-preserved ghost town and Lonnie, all the displaced Horde soldiers, and how Nak was interested in studying desert environs. She tried to paint a picture of a new Fright Zone that used clean energy, tapped into the magic of Etheria, and capable of trading and interacting with the other kingdoms. She told them about the pavilions around the field where the clones were set up. Mostly she tried to say she was sorry without ever actually saying the words.</p><p>“Huh,” Perfuma said. “It would go a long towards restoring balance of magic. There could be seven kingdoms again!” </p><p>“I don’t know,” Scorpia said. She had moved so that she was sitting next to Perfuma, the two of them facing Catra and Melog. Melog gave a snuffle in her sleep and Catra turned to pet her nose so that she wouldn’t have to see the doubt and uncertainty mar Scorpia’s face. </p><p>“You don’t have to decide right now,” Catra said. She glanced up to check the time and then continued. “You have until tomorrow morning. That’s when Nak will be ready to set out.”</p><p>She left to the sounds of Perfuma’s sing-song voice saying something in soothing tones. Melog sniffed the flowers lining their path as they walked back towards the castle. </p><p>“It was well done, youngling,” Melog said once they had left the garden. </p><p>“Whatever,” Catra muttered in a pleased sort of way. It was nice to be praised for a job well done. </p><p> </p><p>Breakfast in bed with Adora was almost perfect. </p><p>Catra didn’t say that lightly because perfect things were hard to come by, but she couldn’t let go of the thought as she watched Adora blink down at her cup of hot tea in the early morning light. Everything was glowing gold and sweet in the room. </p><p>“Did you know,” Catra said. “There are no sunrises in space.”</p><p>Adora took a sip of her tea and a bite of her toast and opened her mouth to speak with her mouth full of jam and bread and Catra had never been more in love. “Really?” Adora said. </p><p>“There’s no place for the sun to rise from,” Catra pointed out reasonably.</p><p>They finished the rest of their food before speaking again. It was another habit from growing up in the Horde. You ate the daily ration bars you were given as fast as you could before someone else took them from you. The food in Bright Moon was different. It was flavorful and required chewing and was sometimes made for pure enjoyment instead of nutritional value. </p><p>Watching Adora make a breakfast sandwich out of all the fixings on their tray was a vision and Catra wanted to never leave this bed as much as she equally wanted to snap herself out of this rose-tinted dreamscape. It didn’t matter if things were flawless, only that she thought it was, only that she felt grateful and hungry all at once. She wanted more moments like this. She was jealous that the work that lay ahead of them would require so much of each of them, but she also couldn’t deny that the way things were now was more than she could have ever imagined for herself before. Maybe it was in her nature to always want more. </p><p>Catra reached out and pushed strand of hair behind Adora’s ear. “Your hair is getting long,” Catra said.</p><p>“Yeah,” Adora sighed and leaned towards Catra. </p><p>This kiss was easy and familiar and Catra’s chest was filled with longing as she thought about all the time ahead that she would have to go without this. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ground herself in the texture of Adora’s hair under her hands, the way Adora smelled like sleep and sweet jam, getting her fill of this soon-to-be memory. </p><p> </p><p>Catra walked towards the field with Melog. Adora had been whisked away into a long series of meetings for the rest of the day. Their last kiss in the doorway of Adora’s room had been lingering and hot. “We’ll see each other again,” Adora had said and First One’s preserve her, Catra had believed her with all her heart. </p><p>Melog nudged Catra to turn her attention to an approaching figure. </p><p>“Hey guys,” Scorpia said. </p><p>Catra nodded in greeting and descended into the camp properly. She found Nak where Whodak had said he would be, and she introduced herself and Scorpia. Melog walked a dainty figure eight around Nak’s legs and deeming him satisfactory when she returned to Catra’s side. </p><p>“It is an honor, little sister,” Nak said. “Lead the way.” </p><p>Traveling with both Scorpia and someone as good as a stranger was uncomfortable. Catra and Scorpia were used to traveling together and Melog made herself inobtrusive, but Nak tended to ask polite questions about everything they passed. </p><p>“Look,” Catra said on the dawn of the second day. “We aren’t the people you should be asking about these woods. A lot of unexplored and unfamiliar to us.” </p><p>Nak nodded. “But the desert,” he said. “You know about the desert.” </p><p>“Yeah,” Scorpia said. “We’ve lived there all our lives.” </p><p>Catra tried not to look too surprised. It was the first time Scorpia had spoken a word since they had left Bright Moon. </p><p> </p><p>It took another three days to reach the town where Catra had left Lonnie and the others. Some of the streets were already looking cleaner and the sounds of a leaf blower could be heard as Catra approached. </p><p>“Lonnie!” Scorpia shouted, cupping her claws around her mouth. “Are you here? Kyle? Rogelio?” </p><p>The leaf blower sound stopped, and Kyle’s head popped out of the second story on a house around the corner. </p><p>“Hey!” Kyle said. “You guys are back. Lonnie’s gonna be so excited! She’s been working on some stuff. Let me get her.” Kyle’s blond head disappeared and Catra was left standing in the street with Scorpia. </p><p>Nak had wandered off to touch the walls of a building. He was humming as he ran his fingers of it, and to Catra’s surprise, his palm opened, and a display screen appeared. “Ah, right,” Nak said to himself. </p><p>“People used to live here?” Scorpia whispered. </p><p>“And they will again,” Catra whispered back. She cleared her throat and said in a regular volume. “I’m sorry.” </p><p>Catra knew she was leaving a lot unsaid. There were things she might not even know she had to apologize for that she still wanted to apologize for. She had hurt Scorpia in her fits of self-destruction and it had been unfair and cruel, but it was what had happened and there was no undoing it now. Catra had a lot of guilt, but she also found within herself an endless well of hope for new beginnings. She-ra had touched Catra’s life and left behind a desire to make things better, if not right, then as right as she could make it, as much as she could bear. </p><p>“Welcome!” Lonnie called as she jogged towards Catra. “Welcome to—”</p>
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